Disney California Adventure

Disney California Adventure is a theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and run by the Walt Disney Company and covers 72 acres. The park is themed around California's culture, using popular Disney, Pixar, and Marvel stories and characters.

The park opened on February 8, 2001, as the second theme park at the Disneyland Resort. Before it was built, Disney decided to create a park celebrating California after a planned park called WestCOT was canceled. Building started in 1998 and finished in early 2001.

When the park first opened, it did not attract as many visitors as Disney expected. Over the next few years, Disney added new rides, shows, and attractions. In 2007, Disney announced big changes to the park. This included rebuilding parts of the park and adding new areas. These changes took five years and finished in 2012.

By 2024, the park welcomed about 10 million visitors.

History

See also: Disneyland Resort § History, and List of Disney attractions that were never built

Concept and creation

The land where Disney California Adventure now stands was bought by Walt Disney in the 1950s. It was used as a parking lot for Disneyland for over 40 years. After making successful theme parks at Walt Disney World in Florida, Disney wanted to add another park to the Disneyland Resort. The original plan was to build a park called WestCOT, but it was too expensive. They decided instead to build a park about California’s history and culture.

The new park started building in 1998. It opened on February 8, 2001, with four areas, 22 shows and attractions, and 15 restaurants.

Opening and initial criticism

When Disney California Adventure opened, it was expected to be very busy. However, it had far fewer visitors than expected. Many people thought the park was too grown-up and didn’t have enough for families.

Early changes and expansions

To improve the park, Disney added more kid-friendly attractions and shows. They brought back a popular parade and added new rides and areas, like A Bug's Land and The Twilight Zone_ Tower of Terror.

Major redesign and expansion

By 2007, Disney decided to make big changes to the park. They spent over $1 billion to change the park’s look and add new areas. The main entrance was redesigned to look like old Los Angeles, and new lands like Cars Land were added. These changes helped bring more visitors back to the park.

Subsequent updates

Over the years, Disney California Adventure kept changing and adding new attractions. Areas like Grizzly Peak and Pixar Pier were updated, and new lands like Avengers Campus opened.

COVID-19 pandemic closure in 2020, partial and full reopening in 2021

Disney California Adventure closed in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened in April 2021 with limits on how many people could visit at once. Rules about wearing masks and keeping distance were in place to keep everyone safe.

Park layout and attractions

See also: List of Disney California Adventure attractions and List of former Disney California Adventure attractions

Disney California Adventure has nine themed areas. These are: Buena Vista Street, Hollywood Land, Avengers Campus, Cars Land, San Fransokyo Square, Performance Corridor, Pixar Pier, Paradise Gardens Park, and Grizzly Peak.

Buena Vista Street is the first area you see when you enter the park. It looks like Los Angeles from the 1920s, when Walt Disney first arrived there. It has shops and restaurants, similar to Main Street, USA in Disneyland Park. In the center, there is a model of the Carthay Circle Theater, where Disney Animation’s first movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs debuted in 1937.

Hollywood Land is inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1930s. It has attractions based on film, television, and theater. There is a part called Hollywood Studios that looks like a real movie studio. The land is home to the Hyperion Theater.

Avengers Campus is inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and has attractions based on characters from Marvel Comics. The area includes Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!, Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure, and Pym Test Kitchen.

Cars Land honors Route 66 and shows the town of Radiator Springs from Pixar’s Cars movies. The biggest attraction is Radiator Springs Racers, a dark ride.

San Fransokyo Square is a waterfront area inspired by California’s fishing places, mixing San Francisco and Tokyo. The restaurants and shops there match this theme.

Performance Corridor is where the park’s parades and shows happen. It is also used for many special events and celebrations during the year.

Pixar Pier looks like old boardwalks and is themed around films from Pixar Animation Studios. Its attractions include the Pixar Pal-A-Round, Incredicoaster, and Toy Story Midway Mania.

Paradise Gardens Park is the main place to watch the World of Color water show. It also has Goofy’s Sky School and The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.

Grizzly Peak is themed around California’s wilderness and national parks, especially Yosemite. The main attraction is Grizzly River Run, a river rapids ride. The area also has the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, a playground.

Upcoming attractions

The park will get two new attractions for Avengers Campus: Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab. There will also be a ride based on Pixar's 2017 film Coco near Pixar Pier and Paradise Gardens Park. Plus, a new area inspired by 20th Century Studios’s films will be built in part of the park’s Hollywood Backlot.

Former areas

Sunshine Plaza

Sunshine Plaza was the first area guests saw after entering Disney California Adventure. It had two shops and a large "Sun Icon." The area closed in 2010 and was replaced by Buena Vista Street in 2012.

Bountiful Valley Farm

Bountiful Valley Farm was a themed area showing farm equipment and crops. It was presented by Caterpillar. When A Bug's Land opened in 2002, this area became part of it. Caterpillar stopped sponsoring the area in 2007, and it closed in 2010, later replaced by Cars Land.

Paradise Pier

Paradise Pier opened when the park opened in 2001. It had rides like California Screamin', Maliboomer, The Sun Wheel, and King Triton's Carousel of the Sea. The area closed in 2018 and reopened as Pixar Pier.

A Bug's Land

Main article: A Bug's Land

A Bug's Land was inspired by Pixar's 1998 film A Bug's Life. It included fun family rides like Flik's Flyers and Heimlich's Chew Chew Train. It opened in 2002 and closed in 2018 to make way for Avengers Campus.

Pacific Wharf

Pacific Wharf was located between Cars Land and Pixar Pier. It looked like an old waterfront in Monterey, California. Its main attractions were The Bakery Tour and the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar. This area was mostly an outdoor food court.

In September 2022, it was announced that Pacific Wharf would become San Fransokyo Square, inspired by Disney Animation's 2014 film _Big Hero 6. The area opened on August 31, 2023.

Alcohol policy

Disney California Adventure serves beer, wine, and cocktails at its restaurants and food stands. The park also holds the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival each year. This festival features special foods and drinks that highlight flavors from California.

Live entertainment

Five and Dime is a fun street show. You can watch Dime and her band friends drive through Hollywood Land in a cool car from the 1920s. They perform on a stage in Buena Vista Street near the Carthay Circle Restaurant. There’s a special nighttime show called World of Color on Paradise Bay. It uses lights and water for amazing displays. During the holidays, there is a special version of the show. You can also meet many favorite characters from Disney Animation, Pixar, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They are happy to say hello to visitors.

Annual events

Disney California Adventure holds special festivals all year. The Lunar New Year Celebration started in 2013 and honors Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean cultures in January and February. The Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival, which began in 2006, shows California’s food, wine, and beer each spring.

Another event is the Oogie Boogie Bash, a special Halloween night event that started in 2019 and happens on some nights in September and October. It is named after the character Oogie Boogie from the film The Nightmare Before Christmas. The Disney Festival of Holidays began in 2016 and takes place in winter, celebrating traditions like Christmas, Navidad, Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, and Three Kings Day.

Attendance

Notes

^† In 2020, the park was only open from the beginning of the year until March 14 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

^‡ Because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, no rankings were made for park visits that year.